The present invention relates to a transport system, comprising                a transport track formed by at least one running rail,        at least one vehicle to be transported, and        a rolling device connected to each vehicle and arranged on the said at least one running rail so as to be able to run thereon, the vehicle provided with the rolling device having a resistance to running on the said at least one rail,        the said transport track having at least one descending track section having sufficient slope so that the resistance to running of each vehicle is overcome, each vehicle thus running on the said at least one descending section by simple gravity.        
Rail transport systems have already been known for a long time, in the form of railway lines. On railway lines, the resistance to running of vehicles on wheels is very favourable in comparison with that of vehicles with engines travelling on the road. However, the route followed by these railway lines involves a constant driving of wagons in circulation by a locomotive, either to pull them in the case of upward slopes or to brake them in the case of downward slopes. The result is a great consumption of energy for traction and a great dissipation of energy for braking. The locomotive itself has a heavy weight which it is necessary to move and brake with the rest of the convoy.
Transport systems are also known of the type with devices provided in fairs or amusement parks, called “big dippers”. The slopes of these devices are used to obtain very violent accelerations in descent, intended to cause fright in the passengers of the vehicles travelling. A large part of the energy accumulated in descent is used immediately in order to climb a following “mountain” as high as possible, without having to use a driving means. Consequently the distances travelled on such an installation are relatively short.
Transport systems are also known, as indicated at the start (see for example FR-1602034 and FR-2235068). These systems are designed solely for the gravity descent of vehicles on a transport track and specific braking devices are provided to slow down the speed of the vehicles in the course of making their descent, which causes an outward dissipation of energy.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,593,699 a transport system to be used in business premises and arranged in an endless loop is described. When the transport track reaches an excessively low level compared with the floor of the premises, it has rising sections of track on which the vehicles are driven upwards over a short distance.
None of the elements of the prior art deal with transport over a long distance on routes with variable elevations between the starting point and the arrival point. Many prior documents have provided for a descent of vehicles by gravity along a transport track, without envisaging a route where the difference in elevation between starting point and arrival point is zero or negative.